constantly critiquing government, I think we still have a profound need for a well-organized, democratic, centralized government. I have a streak of socialist in me, but I believe in a free market modified by regulation; capitalism modified by, for example, socialized medicine, social safety nets. Itâs not a choice between government and anarchy. Itâs about allowing some space for the anarchic in a structured society.
Iâd like to see Elizabeth Warren run for president. We need a woman president next time. Hopefully, if itâs not Warren, our woman president will be a progressive Independent, or a Democrat.
What was your intro to Left politics?
I think seeing the photos of the My Lai massacre, when I was a boy, influenced me to ask: What the
hell
is going on? Those grim, grisly color photos of murdered women and children radicalized me. Years later my radicalization was moderated by experiences on the street, back when I was a drug user. I came to appreciate a properly run police force.
Looking at history, I see some social progressâlike the end of legal slavery and the beginning of empowering women. The rise of unions helped establish the middle class. Some of thatâs been undone, but the fight goes on. I appreciate the Occupy movement. It didnât have a clear message but no one else was doing anything that honest. Some of those people will in time develop a more effective political movement, and Iâll welcome it.
What do you find most frustrating about the Left? Is the Right right about anything?
I find kneejerk political correctness frustrating; I find the Leftâs self-righteousness and lack of pragmatism frustrating. And the sheer cynicism of many who
were
on the Left and now just shrug and sneerâthat, too, I find frustrating.
I think we need conservatives. Itâs a kind of thesis, antithesis, synthesis thing, and we need them to push back against us, within reason. But you know, even conservatives get âprogressiveâ after a while. Few of them would consider taking the vote from women. They digested that much social evolution. They have digested some degree of environmentalismâand now in the age of global warming theyâre getting a real schooling.
And conservatives are correct that unions can be exploitative, and too expensive for a community if they become greedy. Only, that shouldnât mean getting
rid
of unionsâit should mean
modifying
unions, a bit. It doesnât justify the kind of union-busting on a state level weâre seeing now, in places like Michigan.
What do you mean by âreverse terraformingâ?
Turning the habitable world into an uninhabitable world through world war or environmental irresponsibility. Like global warming.
Do you think writers have a particular social responsibility? What is it, then?
I only know that I personally have a sense of social responsibilityâyet as a writer I also feel another kind of responsibility: to entertain. Itâs a balance. Dickens was powerfully entertainingâbut he sure made his point, and a sharp, penetrating point it was. There were actual social reforms prodded into being by his novels. Steinbeck, Upton Sinclairâmore than once, novelists have prompted reforms.
Yes, I know, weâve gotten stuck with Fox News now, and the
Citizens United
decision, the Koch brothers. Weâre in danger of falling into a corporatist dictatorship. But weâre not there yet, and books like
Brave New World
and
1984
and
Fahrenheit 451
have helped. So did books like
Catch-22.
Solzhenitsyn schooled us about the excesses of USSR-style communism.
Uncle Tomâs Cabin
helped end slavery. Novels can be our social conscience.
Have you ever collaborated with anybody besides E.A. Poe? How did it work out?
The Poe collaboration was just finishing an unfinished story by him, in an anthology called
Poeâs Lighthouse.
I hope he approves of my collaborative efforts but I
Iâd like to see Elizabeth Warren run for president. We need a woman president next time. Hopefully, if itâs not Warren, our woman president will be a progressive Independent, or a Democrat.
What was your intro to Left politics?
I think seeing the photos of the My Lai massacre, when I was a boy, influenced me to ask: What the
hell
is going on? Those grim, grisly color photos of murdered women and children radicalized me. Years later my radicalization was moderated by experiences on the street, back when I was a drug user. I came to appreciate a properly run police force.
Looking at history, I see some social progressâlike the end of legal slavery and the beginning of empowering women. The rise of unions helped establish the middle class. Some of thatâs been undone, but the fight goes on. I appreciate the Occupy movement. It didnât have a clear message but no one else was doing anything that honest. Some of those people will in time develop a more effective political movement, and Iâll welcome it.
What do you find most frustrating about the Left? Is the Right right about anything?
I find kneejerk political correctness frustrating; I find the Leftâs self-righteousness and lack of pragmatism frustrating. And the sheer cynicism of many who
were
on the Left and now just shrug and sneerâthat, too, I find frustrating.
I think we need conservatives. Itâs a kind of thesis, antithesis, synthesis thing, and we need them to push back against us, within reason. But you know, even conservatives get âprogressiveâ after a while. Few of them would consider taking the vote from women. They digested that much social evolution. They have digested some degree of environmentalismâand now in the age of global warming theyâre getting a real schooling.
And conservatives are correct that unions can be exploitative, and too expensive for a community if they become greedy. Only, that shouldnât mean getting
rid
of unionsâit should mean
modifying
unions, a bit. It doesnât justify the kind of union-busting on a state level weâre seeing now, in places like Michigan.
What do you mean by âreverse terraformingâ?
Turning the habitable world into an uninhabitable world through world war or environmental irresponsibility. Like global warming.
Do you think writers have a particular social responsibility? What is it, then?
I only know that I personally have a sense of social responsibilityâyet as a writer I also feel another kind of responsibility: to entertain. Itâs a balance. Dickens was powerfully entertainingâbut he sure made his point, and a sharp, penetrating point it was. There were actual social reforms prodded into being by his novels. Steinbeck, Upton Sinclairâmore than once, novelists have prompted reforms.
Yes, I know, weâve gotten stuck with Fox News now, and the
Citizens United
decision, the Koch brothers. Weâre in danger of falling into a corporatist dictatorship. But weâre not there yet, and books like
Brave New World
and
1984
and
Fahrenheit 451
have helped. So did books like
Catch-22.
Solzhenitsyn schooled us about the excesses of USSR-style communism.
Uncle Tomâs Cabin
helped end slavery. Novels can be our social conscience.
Have you ever collaborated with anybody besides E.A. Poe? How did it work out?
The Poe collaboration was just finishing an unfinished story by him, in an anthology called
Poeâs Lighthouse.
I hope he approves of my collaborative efforts but I
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